Bolton Street Cemetery

Wellington Region

New Zealand

When Wellington's first cemetery opened in 1840 it lay on the outskirts of the new town and served the colony's non-Catholic residents. A single, shared town cemetery - rather than graveyards for individual churches - was a new concept in England at this time. The cemetery at Bolton Street was considered a liberal concept for the fledgling colony. However, Anglicans, Jews and Roman Catholics insisted on separate burial areas. The cemetery was divided into three areas - Anglican, Jewish and Public. The Roman Catholic Cemetery was - and still is - in Mount Street, Kelburn. Deaths recorded in Wellington's early days reflected difficulties of the times. Drowning, consumption and childbirth were common causes of death. Soldiers, sailors, thatchers, large families and children were among those buried at the cemetery. They were later joined by politicians, Māori and Pākehā community leaders. Overcrowding and the increasing encroachment of the city resulted in the cemetery closing to buria